


In the Quiet After

by ABookAndACoffee



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Kingdom of Ash Spoilers, Post Kingdom of Ash, Returning Home
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 21:02:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16457159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ABookAndACoffee/pseuds/ABookAndACoffee
Summary: Elide and Lorcan journey home to Perranth, where he helps her deal with what has become of her former home.





	In the Quiet After

Elide stayed in Orynth long enough for Aelin to officially transfer the title of Lady of Perranth to her, though a few weeks went by before she felt completely ready to go home. Home had been an idea rather than a place for so long, she wasn’t sure she could get there, even with that map and muscle memory guiding her. The title transferred, Elide found herself the ruler of a territory that had been gutted and then left to waste in the years since the King of Adarlan wrecked their lives. Whatever she found when she returned, it certainly wouldn’t be the warm halls of her childhood.

At least she wasn’t going alone. Elide wasn’t quite used to being addressed as Lady, especially when the word came from Lorcan’s mouth. While he said it to get a rise out of her more often than not, that didn’t account for the times he used it with sincerity. She wasn’t sure if he was still trying to atone for what happened on that beach in Eyllwe or if he was used to love looking like this; like servitude and obedience, blind trust and stepping around eggshells.

Returning to Perranth was a longer journey than Elide remembered, partly because Lorcan was busy taking it in as if it were heaven. And, she supposed, in a way it was. He’d never been anywhere he wasn’t commanded to go, had never visited a place for anything as simple as his own pleasure. Elide had long ago learned to look at the world as a threat, and so to her, too, those rolling hills were suddenly disarming in their quiet peace. 

Eventually she would marry Lorcan, but she wanted to do it at home, in front of her people, and where her parents had married. Lady Marion had left her wedding dress for Elide’s use, and she had all but forgotten about it. It wasn’t until Lorcan asked her what human ceremonies were like that she remembered, having brushed away that dream in the weeks and months and years she had been locked away in a tower. 

And now, walking into the great hall where her father and mother had entertained diplomats, Elide wondered if she would be able to go through with it after all. The space was smaller than she remembered, but still engulfed her in its importance. How did Aelin handle it, she wondered, taking in the grandeur she had taken for granted as a child. Perhaps she should have stayed in Orynth longer, asked for more advice. She may have survived Morath and the witches and being hunted by Lorcan, but she’d had nothing to lose, then. Elide had a feeling that being quick-witted and brave on a battlefield was only part of the skill needed here.

Lorcan placed a hand on the small of Elide’s back when she paused in the threshold. Their horses and belongings had been left with a page, a boy who stammered first at Lorcan’s size, then at Elide’s finery. The dress was on loan from Aelin; it wouldn’t do to return to rule when she wasn’t distinguishable from the people she was supposed to serve. Elide and Lorcan went straight to the great hall as if her parents expected her, Lorcan allowing himself to be led without asking questions.

Breathing in the stale air, Elide walked into the space. Long tables lined the room, dusty, torn tapestries hung from the walls, and at the head, the table where her parents had sat, drinking, smiling. Her father would wink at her as she was led from the room by her governess, and she knew he would tell her all the best stories about what she had missed the next morning over breakfast.

Now the space was sorely empty, a hole and quiet in the world where there was not supposed to be one. Elide approached the long table, felt Lorcan following steadily behind. She felt every step, reinforced though it was with Lorcan’s casual power, and heard every step that he made. 

Elide reached the table, stood in front of the spot where her father would have been seated, and slid her hand along the wood. She rubbed her fingers together, feeling the dust that had gathered since the last time the place had been used, years before. 

“Vernon didn’t take proper care of this place, did he?” Lorcan’s voice came from behind her, so close she could feel it rumbling in her own chest. 

Elide stiffened. “No. He didn’t. You’d think,” she said, turning to face him, “That after all that work he went through to get rid of my parents and take their place, he might have used it, or…” Her shoulders fell, her eyes watered, and Lorcan pulled her to him. By the time she pulled away there was a dark patch on his shirt, but he didn’t comment.

“So,” she said, “We need to figure out what else he neglected. It might take a while, I’ll have to find out who he left in charge, someone who can tell me about accounts and introduce me to the people I need to speak with. Learn how to read.” Her laugh was laced with a sigh. “I suppose you can help me with that?”

“Of course. Elide, whatever you need, but you don’t have to do it all right now. You don’t even have to do it all this month.” 

Elide looked at the floor. “Yes, but my people, they’ve waited long enough. They probably thought I was dead, after everything with Morath. I can’t let them down.” Elide’s shoulders curved into themselves and she pressed her palms to her eyes. “I don’t know nearly enough, I didn’t have the time, if I had known they were going to leave me I would have paid better attention, I wouldn’t have asked for dolls. Why didn’t I learn more while they were here?”

“I can’t hear you, Elide. You’re too far away.”

Elide looked up at Lorcan, shocked. “I’m not that little!” 

“You are when you talk to the ground. You are the Lady of Perranth now. No need to avert your eyes.” Lorcan placed his hands on her waist and lifted her up to sit on the table. “That’s better.” He flicked her nose, but to his surprise she grabbed ahold of his finger before he could move it away.

“Don’t do that.” Even seated on the table in front of him, Elide had to look up to catch his eye. She released his finger and held her own in his face. “Your lady commands you.” 

Lorcan leaned forward, bracing his hands on the table on either side of her. Elide struggled to stay upright with his mass above her. “Yes, milady.” 

“Say that again,” she breathed. Lorcan leaned in so close she could feel his breath on her face and her heart began pounding. 

“Yes, milady.”

Elide sat up straighter. Grabbing Lorcan by the collar of his shirt, she kissed him until her heart was racing, and her memories of her father seated in that chair behind her were less of a comfort and more reason to blush.

She released Lorcan’s shirt and gently pushed him to the side so she could hop off the table. Straightening her skirts, she lifted her head. “Thank you. Now let’s go find our bedroom.”

**Author's Note:**

> The second part will get smutty. This may also become a series of post-KoA adjustment scenes.


End file.
